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Good morning! It’s Amy with Chalkbeat New York. Hope remote learning went as smoothly as possible for you on Election Day.

Just months after City Hall’s AI moratorium for student-facing generative AI across elementary and middle schools, Google is shifting the rules of engagement. As our friends on Chalkbeat’s National desk report, the tech giant rolled out a "Guided Learning" mode designed to turn Gemini into a step-by-step problem solver instead of a cheat sheet, but warned that turning off student AI features will shut off Google Search across school accounts.

Mayor Mamdani quickly pushed back on X, arguing that “no corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children.” What this means for hundreds of thousands of students on city-issued devices remains unclear. Education Department officials did not respond to our questions on whether students can currently see AI Overviews during Google searches or whether the city would consider moving away from Google products if the company refuses to offer an opt-out.

In other news, Democrats swept key midterm races across the country, potentially setting the stage for a harder line against President Donald Trump’s education agenda in Congress and more voucher oversight in the states. Read more about that here.

Also this week, we're launching our end-of-year campaign to raise $55,000 to support our reporting in 2027. I'm asking you to become a Chalkbeat member today.  

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Around Chalkbeat

Google promises to stop doing students’ homework for them

Facing a backlash to AI in schools, Google says a new Guided Learning feature will become the default on school computers. Just don’t try to turn off AI entirely.

Democrats sweep in blue tsunami. What does it mean for education?

Democrats won control of Congress and key governor's races in the 2026 midterms. Here's what the results could mean for school vouchers, education funding, and Trump's policies.

Here’s what the Supreme Court said during oral arguments in Colorado’s Catholic preschool case

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a Colorado case over whether Catholic preschools can shut out children from LGBTQ families if they take state funding.

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